Friends Who Fall
by Shiori07
Summary: Dick Grayson was not one to be afraid of heights. But seeing others-people he cares about-up so high sets him on edge. And when it's his best friend Wally West /falling/ from over 100 ft. to his death... he may just lose it. (Can be Birdflash or close Dick/Wally friendship) Cover not mine. Slight gore


Author's note: Hey! And thanks for clicking! This is my first Young Justice fic so sorry if things seem off. I started reading a bunch of fanfiction after finishing the series on Netflix cuz T-T. It's mostly been Birdflash, and that's what this can be if you want it to or a close Wally/Dick friendship. Whatever floats your boat. Also, this story doesn't really explain what they were doing or who there were fighting, but after thinking about it, I realized that doesn't matter cuz that's not what this story is about. I hope that doesn't bother you.

Disclaimer: I don't own YJ or the characters but if I did there would obviously be a season 3

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 **~Friends Who Fall~**

It was supposed to be an easy night on the job, a super easy mission that the team could have done in ten minutes flat and then head back home like they had just been saving kittens from trees in the park.

But now Robin was screaming, his blood roaring in his ears as he watched his best friend fall 100 ft. to his death.

No. No, that wasn't accurate anymore. Suddenly, he was Dick Grayson, the scared little boy watching in horror as his parents fell to their deaths from their beloved trapeze. How had it all ended up this way? One minute, he had been doing some reconnaissance for the mission, and the next, he was waking up with a pounding headache and some rope cutting into his arms as it bound him to a metal beam. Kid Flash had been there, grinning down at him and saying something about how he should be called "Boy _Blunder"_ instead. Robin had grimaced back at him through the pain lancing through his skull, and commented he definitely wasn't feeling the aster.

"Can you get out on your own? There's someone coming."

"Dude, who do you think you're talking to? I got this, go."

Wally had flashed him a swift thumbs up before he sped off to find a hiding place.

Apparently, Robin had still been out of it, because next thing he remembered was the ceiling exploding and Wally tumbling from the rafters into the open air, hurtling for the concrete below.

" _WALLY!"_

Dick struggled against his bindings, frantically trying to saw at them with his concealed blade but to no avail. Ropes. Things that should have been no match for his skills, should have been nothing to get out of. Easy. Child's play. But now they were the bane of his existence. His hands were shaking too much as he struggled, kicked, fought, trying desperately to reach his friend and failing miserably.

 _Not again. Please…_

He was in a circus tent. Haly was trying to calm the audience. His mom and dad, they were laying on the ground, bodies broken and bleeding and lifeless. Joints bent at odd angles, bones jutted out through skin, pools of dark, red liquid blossomed from their costumes onto the floor… And suddenly it was Wally. Those familiar, bright green eyes staring lifelessly up at him, his neck broken, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth...

No… no, no, no, no, no, _no!_ He couldn't lose Wally! Not Wally! Not after everything, after finally finding a home with Bruce and a place he belonged. Not after finding his best friend…

Concrete and scaffolding landed with a loud crash, dust and debris flying and billowing up in a huge, suffocating cloud.

" _WALLY!"_ Dick screamed, his voice broken and high-pitched as he searched wildly through the dust, his bindings cutting into his arms as he struggled against them. Suddenly, he couldn't breathe. His chest felt too tight, his lungs filled with water, his eyes wouldn't focus long enough for him to decipher whether he was in a tent or a regular building.

The screams, the blood, the sightless eyes…

Someone was at his side—Aqualad—drawing a metal hilt from his back and easily cutting the ropes. His mouth was moving, and he must have been trying to speak to him, but Dick heard nothing, merely staring into the dust and clutching at the iron fist squeezing his chest, his heart thudding heavily against his ribcage.

"No… no… not again… please, not again… Wally…"

The boy wonder whimpered and curled into himself, knees pulled tight to his chest, his breaths coming in sharp, ragged gasps. He stared into his knees and just tried to breathe, fists clenching in the fabric of his arms and nails threatening to pierce his gloves.

He couldn't do this. He couldn't do this. Not again.

Aqualad's mouth moved again, like he was saying his name, but there was only a faint, muffled sound. He was watching him with wide eyes, kneeling down next to him, hand raised but motionless.

A blur of red and yellow flashed by, and suddenly Kid Flash was standing next to him. He said something to Kaldur, and with a nod, the Atlantean took one last look at their friend and dashed off, Water-Bearers drawn.

"Rob. Robin." Wally was kneeling next to Dick, his voice distant and wavering as it came through the water that was somehow pressing against the younger's ears. "Robin, it's me. I'm here."

The fourteen-year-old barely registered the feeling of hands gripping his shoulders. He was too busy trying to gulp down air that moved through his lungs like tar and yet was still too thin, his body trembling with every effort.

"Robin… _Dick!"_

Dick finally looked up at the sound of his name. He was met with Wally's gaze, bright green eyes shining in concern through his goggles as he looked his best friend in the eye. "Dick, look at me. I'm right here, man. I'm fine."

"…W-Wally?"

The speedster grinned at him, encouraging his mind to register what it was desperately trying to cling to. "The one and only, Boy Blunder."

"F-fell… broke… broken… blood and—"

The ginger shook his head. "No. There was none of that. Miss M broke my fall. I'm fine. I'm alive." To prove his point, he took Dick's left hand and put it to his chest. Dick stared at his hand over the yellow suit, palm flat and fingers splayed out. Through the leather, he could feel the rise and fall of Wally's breathing, the _thump-thump-thump_ ing of a heartbeat.

The knot in his chest loosened as he focused on the warmth beneath his fingertips.

 _Life. There was life there._

Slowly, his palm skimmed across the yellow suit, fingers seeking out Wally's shoulder, clutching to it as he leaned into his chest, head resting over his heart. The redhead's arms easily wrapped around him, pulling his small, fragile body close and rubbing soothing circles into his back.

"Just breathe, Dick. Hang tight for as long as you need to."

Soon, Wally had scooped him up, Dick still clutching to his front as he sped them out of there—wherever they were, for Dick couldn't find it within himself to remember at the moment. He tried to calm down, his breathing exercises slowing coming back to him as cool wind blew past his face, carding through his hair and taking the suffocating heat from his face and neck.

Wally was alive. He was ok. There was no blood this time, no death. This wasn't like before—now he had a team, one that he could trust and rely on and just _know_ would not leave him like that. None of them would die so easily.

Wally was still here.

When Dick finally realized they were outside, the fresh air was hitting his face and Wally was still holding him, rubbing his arms and his back to ease him out of his panic attack. Letting out a shaky breath, the boy wonder pulled away from his best friend, hand still clawing into his shoulder a moment longer before he could bring himself to release it.

At the movement, Wally looked down at him, his goggles perched atop of his head. "How ya feelin'?"

"Better… thanks, KF."

"No, problem, Dude. What are bros for?" he asked, grinning at him in his usual Wally-way.

Dick—or Robin, now—felt a smile twitch at his lips. He watched as Wally stood up from his crouch, then reached a hand down for his friend to take. Robin grasped it immediately, and Wally pulled him up. Standing, Robin felt his knees shake, and he had to cling to his friend a moment, Wally instinctively bracing his shoulder, before he could trust himself to stand on his own. With a sigh, he let his arms drop limply to his sides, staring at some random spot on the ground as he indulged in every breath of air that graced him. He noticed that under his mask felt itchy and swollen—he felt so tired—so he removed it, not afraid to reveal himself to Wally, and rubbed the heel of his palm into his eyes.

"What triggered it?" Wally asked gently, though Robin could tell his friend knew without having to ask. "Was it the fall?"

"Yeah," the ebony answered weakly, nodding and briefly looking his friend in the eyes before putting his domino mask back in place. "Sorry. I should probably apologize to the team too. I haven't… had an attack in such a long time. I didn't think it would be a problem…"

"Bro, it's fine. Things happen and I'm sure the team will understand."

"Robin!" M'gann's voice shouted. The two boys turned, watching as Kaldur ran up with Miss Martian, closely followed by Superboy and Artemis.

"Hey, Miss M," Robin greeted genially as the girl landed beside him with worry clearly etched onto her face.

"Robin, are… are you alright? I couldn't establish the link with you."

"I'm fine. Sorry I worried you guys," the ebony said, looking around at the four of them with a small smile.

"Rob was still so spaced out, I'm not surprised the link didn't work," Wally cut in, slinging an arm around his friend's shoulders nonchalantly. "The bad guys must have hit you really hard."

Robin made a mental note to thank his best friend later and groaned, playing along. "I know. Batman would kill me for letting them get the drop on me so easily. Nobody say anything to him," he pleaded, gaze flicking to Kaldur'ahm without really thinking. The Atlantean eyed him coolly, no trace of judgement on his face, but a simple question in his eyes. Robin stared right back, hoping that just his face could send the message "I'll explain later" as easily to his leader as it could his best friend (not that he could actually _tell_ him anything because of Batman's rule on IDs, but he could give a general explanation). Aqualad seemed to understand, for he nodded in understanding.

"We are glad that you are unharmed. And you did not endanger the mission, so it is nothing Batman needs to be made aware of."

Robin nodded gratefully before turning to his teammates. "Why don't we head back? Getting knocked out is exhausting and I would like to crash at my own place."

" _You're_ exhausted? You barely did anything," Superboy muttered, arms crossed, but he gave him a minute half-smile, telling him that he was just as relieved as everyone else.

"Great idea," Artemis sighed, stretching her arms into the air. "I'm beat. And hearing Kid Mouth jabber all night long in my head without Robin to reign him in wasn't helpful."

"Hey, I was trying to find my best friend, ok?! Rambling helps me think."

Before Artemis could take another jab at him, Aqualad spoke. "Miss Martian, is the bioship in range?"

"Calling her over now," M'gann answered. Barely five seconds later, the red aircraft was soaring over the treetops and landing in the clearing beside the team. Robin watched as everyone began to board, leaving him with Kid Flash still at his side.

"Hey," Wally called, drawing Robin's attention to the redhead as he held out his fist. "Stay whelmed, man. Nothing like that is ever going to happen to any of us, alright?"

The boy wonder felt a genuine smile shape his lips as he lifted his own hand and gave his best friend a fist bump. "Right. Perfectly whelmed. Thanks, Kid."

"Great. So we're heading to your house for videogames and a movie night, right?"

"Dude, no, we're heading to a monastery to become monks. Of course we are! What else would we be doing?"

"Sweet, cuz I'm _starving_ and Alfred's cooking sounds great right about now. I'll meet you in half an hour."

While the night had started off a bit rockier than Robin would have liked, at least he now knew for sure that he could always count on Kid Flash to smooth things out again.

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A/N: I realize the ending is a bit lame, but I couldn't find a way to fix it. I might edit that later but... eh.


End file.
